The Demon's Game (2 page)

It was an evil little impulse that made me reach my
hands around my wife’s naked waist to warm them. As she shrieked, I laughed and
pulled her closer.

“Dylan!” she cried with outrage, trying to get away.
“Why are you freezing?!”

I finally let her go and she rolled over to look at
me. “I had to get up for a minute. I’ve got to get ready for work. Do you think
you can handle breakfast for the boys?”

“Why do you have to get ready for work this early?
Surely the hospital doesn’t make you come in before the sun is even up.”

I laughed. “My hours could be a lot worse.” I leaned
down to kiss her even as I pulled the blanket off myself. She wrapped her arms
around me, deepening the kiss. I was so enthralled I didn’t even realize what she
was doing until I was back in a horizontal position and she was on top. “We
can’t do this,” I said, halfheartedly.

“Fine.” She sat up and flopped over on the bed with
her arms wide. “You can be on top, but you have to cook dinner tonight.” She
said this with a teasing exasperation, as if she were giving up something
monumental.

“I can’t be late for work.”

“We have plenty of time,” she argued.

“We don’t have any time.” I got out of bed and
started for the bathroom.

“I’m a god, stupid.”

I stopped at the door and looked at her, interested
in her point despite the cold. If nothing else, it was helping the problem
Divina left me with. “I’m aware of that,” I said, trying to think of something
completely not sexy while looking at my gorgeous wife sprawled over the bed.
The dark maroon of the blanket seemed to accent her flawless skin.

She pushed up on her elbows, which emphasized her
chest, and gave me the wicked grin I could never resist. “I can create a time
bubble, we can go to the Land of the Iadnah, or we can even go back in time and
return here in a minute.”

“You are a bad influence on me.”

“I try.”

I practically ran back to the bed.

*          *          *

I stepped out of the shower and dressed for work,
eager to begin this new adventure with my family. I couldn’t help but to smile
as Hail could be heard throwing a fit in the kitchen. Some things would never
change, and it was a relief that the move hadn’t traumatized him. The last time
my older son was on Earth, he was being hunted by a powerful demon.

When the complaining stopped, I knew Ron had joined
his brother and that Hail would be begging his brother to cook pancakes. I
couldn’t really blame them; Divina was amazing at cooking up potions, but she
had no talent for cooking food. I wasn’t much better, since my cooking
experience consisted of bachelor food and grilled meat. Ron, however, was oddly
skilled in the culinary arts. He could recreate any meal he tried, from the
finest restaurants on Duran, and his imagination for food was ingenious. For
his eighth birthday, I got him a cookbook from Earth, and since then I had to
flash to Earth to get ingredients and equipment to fit his very specific
standards.

In the kitchen, I found my wife trying desperately to
be motherly. She tried to be patient, but she just wasn’t built that way. While
she would never hurt one of the boys, she had a history of walking out.
Sometimes when the boys were arguing or playing, it would make her feel very
mortal and that was something she couldn’t handle, so she would just get up and
walk out for days or weeks. She loved them both, but she was too old, too
powerful, and too much a god.

I kissed her on the way to the coffee pot. Her long,
silky black hair splayed across her face. She wore a black tank-top and shorts
and I could feel the warmth of her skin as if she were calling me to her. If
the boys weren’t in the room, I would have pulled her into my arms and probably
been late for work. Instead, it took all the control I could muster to walk
away and get my coffee.

“Your class schedules arrived yesterday,” I said to
the boys. “I got you both in advanced classes, but they wouldn’t put Ron in
sixth grade because he’s too young.” Luckily, the principal of the local middle
school hadn’t seen Ron or he would have tried to put the child in fourth grade.
I could have made his legal records show that he was ten, but we were lucky if
people believed he was his actual age.

My son was the epitome of “fine-boned.” I knew he
would never be huge, but at this point he would be fortunate to reach his mother’s
height. There was nothing wrong with him, he was just small. His hair was the
same dark brown as mine and his eyes were the same green, but his features were
soft at his age.

“So we’re in fifth grade?” Hail asked.

Hail was a different matter entirely. Although he
wasn’t muscular or overweight, he was growing very quickly to the point that
while he was only eleven, he could easily pass for thirteen. His hair was brown
with deep red shading and was very shiny, while his purple eyes nearly glowed
in the dark. Ron threw a fit the last time Hail asked me to cut his hair when
it got too shaggy.

“Sorry, honey, but the best I could do was get you in
the same school. You’re in sixth grade and Ron is in fifth grade. Seventh
graders are in a different building. This year, you’re going to have to be bear
with it. Next year, you’ll go to seventh grade and Ron will skip sixth grade so
the two of you can be in the same class. So, Ron…”

“Show them all up so I can skip sixth grade? No
problem. Thank you for getting us in the same school. I know it wasn’t easy.”

Ron was an angel.

“No! We have to be in the same class!” Hail cried.
“Ron needs me! What if something happens?”

Divina sighed.

Ron had lived with the balance of the universe inside
him for five years, and although nothing had gone wrong yet, we were always on
guard. He tried to hide it, but sometimes when Mordon and I were separated for
a few days, Ron would avoid me like the plague. I knew that he could always
feel it. The balance constantly pushed Vretial to do things when it was inside
him and we knew it was only a matter of time before it tried to force Ron. For
all we knew, Hail was the only one who could help him if the balance ever tried
to take control of Ron.

If anything happened to Ron because I made them go to
school…

“We haven’t got the bus schedule yet, so somebody has
to drop you off at school,” I said.

“Not it!” Divina yelled.

I laughed and kissed her. “Sorry, babe, but you can’t
drive for shit. And Mordon hates being in the ‘metal cage.’ Our neighbor in
one-oh-three is one of my coworkers. He has a son in fifth grade, so his wife
is going to drive their kid to school. I already spoke with him and his wife is
okay with taking two more.”

We had two cars; my blue Jaguar C-X75 and a black
Dodge Charger. My father had dozens of cars that were passed down to me. He
didn’t even leave them in a will; he actually put the titles in my name. I
wasn’t a car nut, but I couldn’t resist the Jaguar. We used the Charger as an
emergency car.

“Why doesn’t his son take the bus?” Ron asked.

“His son, Drake, is in recovery from cancer. He’s
been through the ringer and has problems leaving his mom.” I knew the boys
didn’t understand mortal afflictions. Although they both understood injuries
and even sickness, they’d never encountered something like cancer. I wanted
them to see what Earth was all about, but it wasn’t all sunshine and roses.

“Why didn’t you heal him?” Ron asked.

“He’s never been to the ER. I’ve never met him or
been near him.” I knew without a doubt what my son would say.

“I’ll take care of him,” Ron said. Hail nodded his
agreement.

“Be careful. You can’t heal people on Earth like you
can on Duran; you have to hide your magic from everyone. I’m not saying don’t
help him, I’m just saying you need to be careful. Slow and gentle.” I’ve warned
the boys they had to hide their magic on Earth, but I was still worried. They
were both demigods and about to be set loose in a human middle school.

Mordon entered the kitchen wearing only jeans as I
poured my second cup of coffee. He was really trying to fit in on Earth. He
hated jeans, but wore them anyway, and he cut his hair into an actual style
instead of just tying it back. I was still getting used to it.

“There’s plenty more coffee,” I offered.

Mordon scowled at the eggs. “Between your coffee and
your wife’s cooking, I think I’m going to starve on this primitive world.”

At that point, I checked out the two plates of eggs
on the table. Considering that the last time I asked her to make food, she
presented a plate of dry, chocolate cereal, it was an improvement. She may have
preferred Duran food, but pre-prepared food had its place in our house.

“Excuse me, my world is not primitive!” Divina
growled.

“And there is nothing wrong with my wife’s cooking,”
I added, taking her fork and stabbing some of the eggs before gathering it onto
the fork. I took a bite, swallowed, and shuddered, trying desperately not to
make a face.
Oh, my, god, salt. Too much salt.
“But I think Ron should
take over the cooking from now on.” I took the plate and fork and scraped the
eggs off into the trash before someone died, making a mental note to explain to
my wife when we were in private what moderation was. “Now, I’ve got to get to
work. Divina, take the boys over to one-oh-three in five minutes. Mordon, stay
out of trouble. No sheep chasing or burning down villages.”

“Dylan, I hate you.”

“No, you don’t.”

“You’re not going to ask me to stay out of trouble?”
Divina asked, putting her chin in her hand and smirking at me.

My heart skipped a beat and I inadvertently
swallowed. “I’d be wasting my breath.”

“I was thinking of popping off to Venice for lunch.”

She was taunting me. There was no way I could miss
work to go to Italy with her… but I wanted to so badly. “Take Mordon with you.”

She glared. “I tell you I’m going to our honeymoon
place and you tell me to take another man.”

I shrugged. “Mordon isn’t another man.” Mordon
smacked me in the shoulder. “You’re not! You’re my brother. If there is anyone
in the universe I trust my wife with, it’s you.” Even if the goddess was
willing to cheat on me, Mordon was incapable of betraying me. “Now, I have to
go. The boys’ schedules and backpacks are on the coffee table. Make sure they
dress appropriately; it’s cold now but it’ll warm up. I’ll be home about six.”
I kissed Divina once more and hugged the boys, deliberately not commenting on
Hail’s outfit. I really wanted to see them off on the first day, but I just
couldn’t be late.

Mordon patted me on the arm as I headed out for work.
He could feel my worry and frustration, but it was my choices that put us in
this situation. I worked as a doctor for a month in this little town already,
but it was the first day my boys were here, and it was their first day of
school.

While the town was large enough to have a decent school
and a functioning hospital, it was pretty secluded. This was made pathetically
obvious by the fact that only one highway, which passed about a quarter mile
out of town, was our single link to the rest of the country. Aside from the
school and hospital, we had a decent array of typical stores and establishments
that conveniently lined our main street. Due to the later opening hours of the
stores and the early hour of my shift, my drive to work was quick and
relatively traffic-free.

As usual, the small hospital was quiet, which was
wonderful because it meant there weren’t many patients. Overnight shift in the
ER was true Hell. As small as the hospital was, the staff here was dedicated
and caring.

I was changing into my scrubs when the overhead paged
me, beginning a surge of patients that lasted all morning. By the end of the
first month at the hospital, I was on to them; the nurses realized how good I
was with the “no hope” patients, so they were sending the most intensive cases
to me. Although it was honestly what I wanted, I wished they said something
instead of trying to be secretive about it. Oh, the nurses felt guilty and
tried to ease their guilt by feeding me home-cooked meals and ordering pizza,
but they still never admitted anything.

The worst case of the morning was a little boy, Ron’s
age, who had been shot by his brother on accident. He was unconscious when they
brought him in, which was a relief, since I couldn’t handle crying children.
Because he was shot in the stomach, there was a lot of internal damage. I had
to operate, but I used my magic efficiently and subtly enough that the many
nurses around never suspected a thing. Most of it was instinct and before I
knew it, an hour had gone by.

Everyone was amazed that I managed to keep him from bleeding
out. I was just amazed the power didn’t cut out in the middle of the operation.
It seemed the more focused I was, the better chance the equipment had of not
blowing out. What was most important was that the little boy would be fine.

“Dr. Yatunus,” the head nurse called as I passed the
nurse station.

“Hey, Ms. Manning.” I changed direction and went to
the counter. “How is your morning going?” I asked.

The nurse was sweet, but very strict with the other
nurses. Since I had only been at the hospital for a month, I assumed it was the
normal culture of nurses. She was about my age, around five-six, with
shoulder-length white-blond hair and light hazel eyes. Frown lines were just
beginning to set in her face and she was on the verge of being too thin. I had
heard other nurses say she was bitter and needed a husband, but I was of mind
that people were usually happier when others weren’t talking behind their
backs.

“Better than some mornings.” She set a box of pizza
down on the pristine white counter. “I saved you a few slices.”

“Thank you,” I said. She opened the box to reveal
half a large pepperoni pizza. I grabbed a piece and wolfed it down as fast as I
could without being rude. Healing with magic took a lot of energy and usually
left me starving and sore.